Is the Object Obsolescent? On Reuse Beyond Simondon

Resumo

The article critically examines the status of the obsolescence of technical objects within the context of contemporary consumer society, taking Gilbert Simondon’s philosophy of technology as its central theoretical framework. The author argues that obsolescence is not primarily a technical phenomenon, but rather a social, symbolic, and economic one, produced by market dynamics, advertising, and the logic of permanent innovation, which detach the object from its structural durability. On the basis of this observation, the text proposes reuse as a technical, ethical, and political gesture, distinct from the simple practices of recycling or restoration. To reuse means to reinvest the object with new functional schemata, thereby inaugurating a new inventive cycle that preserves the technical core of the artefact and reinscribes the human within the relationship to technology. This practice is presented as a form of resistance to the dehumanization of consumption and to the reduction of objects to mere disposable commodities. The article further examines the connections between reuse, ecodesign, and the circular economy, emphasizing the need to rethink design in terms of durability, dismantlability, and the functional openness of objects. Examples drawn from design, contemporary art, and educational practices illustrate how obsolete objects can acquire new functions, symbolic values, and renewed social relevance. Finally, the text argues that a culture of reuse entails a broader transformation of society, grounded in principles of responsibility, technical imagination, and education, capable of fostering a more ethical, sustainable, and solidaristic relationship with technical objects.